Walking through a pool of vomit is not the most refined of starts to a dining experience.

But then refinement was sadly lacking on my Bank Holiday weekend visit to one of Manchester’s newest arrivals on the dining and drinking scene, The Refinery on Spinningfields.

The alarmingly expansive pool ejected from a diner’s tummy was lain before me as I ventured to the toilets at the tail end of the restaurant’s “Bottomless Brunch” offer on a Sunday afternoon.

For the uninitiated, it’s a recent trend on the city’s dining scene to offer punters unlimited amounts of booze to cram in to a fixed time sitting for a set fee.

Here at The Refinery that is “bottomless” Bellinis or Bloody Mary cocktails to guzzle in a two-hour timeframe for just £15.

The main bar area at The Refinery (Image: Eddie Garvey)

A recipe for disaster, I pondered, as I gingerly tiptoed through the sicky slick, as a staff member was dashing past. “Someone appears to have vomited!” I exclaimed. “Yes, I know, I’ve just skidded through it,” was his response.

Off he dashed, and off I went on through the corridor to the ladies’. Sadly, by the time I’d come out, the pool had not been cleared up.

I mentioned this to our waiter, who apologetically explained that they were understaffed and that sadly a couple of diners had been rather too enthusiastic on the bottomless brunch thing, hence the outpouring, and that usually things like this would be dealt with quicker.

Yes, it may have been busier than most Sundays, but having been open some six months now I would have expected the national operators of this restaurant (Drake & Morgan) not to be quite so overwhelmed by a packed venue of diners and drinkers.

We had to wait a full half an hour after being seated before we could even get anyone over to our table to order drinks, let alone talk us through the menu. The bar staff appeared to be frantically trying to fill up flutes with Bellinis before the bottomless brunch ended.

The Refinery (Image: Carl Sukonik | The Vain Photography)

This, coupled with my tales of watery woe from the toilets, was not exactly impressing my guests, two of whom were visiting from Birmingham for the day.

It didn’t get much better when said pals were informed that the squid starters they both ordered (some 15 minutes before) were no longer available.

“We’ve got a problem,” our waiter grimaces. “There’s no squid left.” By way of an explanation he continued: “The thing is we have all of the prawns and squid in the same bucket so we don’t know when we’re about to run out of them.”

The look of disdain on my friends’ faces said it all as they huffed: “Where HAVE you brought us Dianne?”

By the time our starters eventually do arrive, a full hour has passed. It has become a subject of tetchy debate on the table, and to amuse ourselves we have been pouring over the sand-timers that sit as decorations on the eclectic bookcases.

The Refinery at Spinningfields (Image: Manchester Evening News)

You can’t knock the fit-out of this place at least - the very definition of swanky, one might say, with its tiled floors, stylish lighting and casually draped furs over the Scandi-chic chairs.

My friend enjoyed her scotch egg starter (£5.95), with the egg nicely oozing through the sausagey coating, although she felt the chorizo mayo was a tad too rich for the meaty offering.

My starter of broad bean and ricotta on toast (£5.95) is as amiable as cold beans on cold toast can be; there is a pleasant mint dressing and the beans are fresh and crisp.

My main course of grilled salmon with a pecan crunch (£12.95) is disappointingly limp, arriving with a watery sauce lacking in any real flavour, and a side order of broccoli with toasted almonds (£3.95) is cold, while the rosemary chips (£4.95) are a little too firm, although are at least piping hot.

My friend opted for the chicken Sunday roast dinner (£14.95) and while it’s an impressive looking stack of chicken with a plump sausage on top, she complains of a strange oily taste. It turns out the problem is the gravy - a very thin slick of sauce that does indeed have a strange, unpleasant taste when I dip my chip in it to test it out.

The accompaniments are good though, a hefty pile of roast parsnips, carrots and cabbage.

I plough on alone with dessert - which is probably the highlight of my meal in all honesty - a tasty salted caramel and honeycomb knickerbocker glory, although a tad on the pricey side at £7.95.

It wasn’t all bad - my friends very much enjoyed their colourful and creative cocktails from the bar’s extensive list, and you’ll be pleased to hear we didn’t drink them as if there was a time limit hanging over us.

Cocktails at The Refinery (Image: Eddie Garvey)

The owners of The Refinery are planning a second, even bigger Manchester venture later this year at St Peter’s Square, and we can but hope there is some refining of their offering by the time it launches.